Not Okay
by MikadoTheAirConditioner
Summary: If you are born with a Gift of either Air, Fire, Water, or Earth, like Sam, Dean, and John, then you are instantly respected and admired. If you are born with no Gift at all, like Kate Milligan, then you are seen as not quite equal to the Gifted, but you are still acknowledged as important. If you are Mixed, however, like Adam is, you are treated like garbage.
1. Chapter 1

Hello guys! This is a Supernatural Au set in a universe where everyone was either born with a Gift(Water, Earth, Fire, or Air) or they aren't. Adam is the result of John, who was Gifted with Fire, and Kate, who has no Gift. He's called a Mixed, a race that is despised and picked on. After his mom dies, his Gifted half-brothers, Sam and Dean, take him in.

Disclaimer:I own no characters in this story.

* * *

Chapter One

About two years after a baby is born is when they'll start showing signs of their Gift. If they are gifted with Fire, then they might set something alight, or maybe stick their hand in a fire place and not get burned. If they're Water, they might start manipulating their bath water, or if you take them swimming, they won't come up to breath. For one Gifted with Earth, you have to be careful walking around them because they might cause mini earthquakes. If a child is Gifted with Air, then you might find little tornadoes happening all around your house.

Then, of course, if your child has no Gift at all, they will act like any other two year old.

When Kate Milligan's son, Adam, turned two, she knew that he would not be a normal two year old. She also knew that he wouldn't have the amazing powers that children born with Gifts had. Because neither Kate's father or mother had Gifts, then she didn't either. However, Adam's father, John Winchester, did have a Gift. Kate had met the charming man who was Gifted with Fire when she was a young girl, and Adam had been the result of a one-night stand between them. So Adam was not fully normal, nor was he fully Gifted.

He was a Mixed. A bastard blend of two pure blooded people, who would never belong in any one group, and who would be endlessly treated with contempt and ridicule. When Kate had found out that she was pregnant with him she had considered getting an abortion, just to spare the child the pain of a world that hated Mixed. But after she had told John that she was pregnant he had balked at the suggestion, and had said that if she didn't want their child he would take him. Kate declined him. John was a decent man, but under that courteous smile he gave her, she sensed something broken and hard, and she hadn't wanted her son anywhere near it.

So she had Adam, and he was a beautiful happy baby boy who smiled and giggled at everything he say. And when Kate looked into the joy and innocence in his blue eyes, she nearly burst out sobbing when she realized that those eyes would be filled with hurt and sadness after the world would scorn him for what he was. She watched as her son slept in his crib, innocently and peacefully, and she decided something. She decided that for as long as she could, she would protect her son from people who would tease and taunt him for something that he could not control.

After her maternity leave was over, she went back to being a nurse and she got a babysitter for Adam. A nice and friendly fifteen year old with hot pink braces, who, after Adam's two year birthday, had hissed that she wouldn't babysit a freak.

Mixed were easily identified. After their birthday went by, their powers started appearing, just like Gifted, but with some differences. Mixed children weren't as powerful as Gifted, and they had less control over their Gift. Whereas a fully Gifted child could frolic in a bonfire without a single burn to show for it, Adam would only be able to walk in the fire for a little bit, before he would have to get out, and afterwards he would be very tired.

After the babysitter incident, Kate found a daycare run by an old friend who didn't discriminate against Mixed. She continued to work hard, into the hours of the night so she could support herself and Adam. Adam kept growing, and each day his kindness and happiness would grow with him. There were some dirty looks, from the parents of the other kids who went to the daycare. They made sure to spread the word all over town that Kate Milligan had a Mixed for a son, and soon everyone in the town looked at them funny whenever they went out to the grocery store or to the park. Kate ignored them, and told her son to do the same, that he should hold his head up high because he was just as good as any of them. Then, Adam had started school.

Kids were cruel, Kate knew that. They didn't know any better, once they found someone who was different they either ignored them or teased them. Adam had no friends, and every day after he came home from school, he was miserable. Kate wanted to help and protect her little boy, but there was only so much she could do. It's not like she could follow her son every minute of every day. But she hadn't counted on John.

It wasn't like John had completely disappeared from their lives. He sent child support and came over once in a while to play with Adam, but Kate knew that they were a second thought to him. He had his own life to live, and they could only be apart of it every other time. But then, something changed. Kate didn't know what, and she never asked. John came over more, was a part of their life more. By now, Adam was twelve years old, and still having trouble in school. He was a bright kid and he always got his work done, but he had no friends, and sometimes he would come home with bruises. Kate had talked with the principal of the school about Adam's bullying problem, but the man obviously had no love for Mixed, and he had sneered at her and assured her that all of the children in his school were good hard-working kids. Adam had probably walked into a door, he had said. Kate had resisted the urge to slap the smug man.

That had been about around the time where John had started to become a more apparent part of their life. Kate hadn't known it, but John had secretly been teaching Adam self-defense maneuvers. Kate was a woman who hated violence, so when she got a call from the school one day saying that Adam had gotten into a fight, she had been both shocked and appalled. When she got there to find her son grinning proudly, with a chipped tooth, saying that he had taught his bully a lesson, she had to fight down a feeling of pride while she lectured him about fighting.

Adam had lowered his head in shame, but later, when she told John what happened and asked him to stop teaching her son that violence was okay, she had seen his eyes sparkle with pride as John patted his head and told him that he did a good job.

It wasn't a perfect life. John still disappeared from time to time, sometimes for months in a row, and as Adam grew into a teenager the fights continued, as did the dirty looks from the town people. She still had to work herself ragged to pay the expenses, and sometimes she would just lay on her bed and cry from how overwhelmed she was. But then, her lovely son would sneak quietly into her bedroom and rub her back while telling her that it would be okay, they would be fine, and she knew that it didn't need to be perfect. She had Adam and John.

Then John died. He had been shot. He had been mugged on the street, and instead of giving up his wallet, he fought back. She had to smile at the funeral, because it was just like John to do something like that, and because if she didn't smile then she would cry. She ended up crying anyway, and while she was sobbing outside on the steps, a shadow had fallen over her. She looked up to see two young men who looked like they had been in their late twenties. One had a strong jawline and bright green eyes that had a spark of kindness in them, along with a hardness that reminded her of John. And as she looked at the taller one, who had shaggy brown hair and a smile that looked exactly like one of John's rare ones, she realized that Adam wasn't John's only son.

Adam hadn't come to the funeral, he had been to devastated and refused to go and see his father's corpse. When she explained that to Sam and Dean, Sam had nodded sadly, while Dean had tightened his hands into fists. He had looked angry, and Kate could see why. Adam's father had died and he didn't even bother to come to the funeral? Dean was practically radiating the thought, but he held his tongue after a pointed look from Sam. Kate had asked them if they knew what she was to John, and they had nodded. Apparently, they had found out a while ago in John's secret notebook, but they hadn't wanted to hurt her and her son. She had smiled at that. John had raised some good boys. She thanked them for that, and when she went home she told Adam that he had two brothers.

Adam had looked at her, bewildered. He had shaken his head in disbelief, saying that dad wouldn't have done that, he wouldn't have had a secret family. Kate had to take a deep breath and explain that _they_ had been the secret family. She explained that John had been married, and that she had just been fling. Adam had grown red in anger at that. "Am I just a mistake, then?" he had asked. Kate had shook her head, had told him that John had still loved him, he had loved them both. Adam had simply stormed up to his room and Kate sighed.

The next few months were tense, like they were both walking on eggshells. Eventually, they had a long talk, and things had started to get better. She hadn't spoken about Sam or Dean, and Adam hadn't mentioned wanting to meet them.

They were okay again. It didn't matter that Kate was a single mother who had no idea how to raise a Mixed child, had no idea how to nurture his abilities, and it didn't matter that Adam was a Mixed in a world of Gifted and not Gifted. They were okay.

Then Kate had died in a car accident. And things were not okay anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Kate's funeral was a small affair. Her parents and her brother were there, even though they hadn't spoken to Kate ever since they had found out about her giving birth to a Mixed. Some of her friends were there, including the lady, Ms. Williams, that had run the daycare center that Adam had went to as a little boy. And then there was Adam himself. The fifteen year old had been receiving dirty looks from nearly half of the people at the funeral, save for Ms. Williams and some other people who either didn't know or didn't care that he was a Mixed.

After the funeral was over Adam was sitting by his mother's grave, just staring at the headstone. He couldn't believe it. His mother was dead, killed by a drunk driver. He would never see her again, never hear her laugh, never see her smile. She would never lecture him for not brushing his teeth again, would never ruffle his hair anymore, and he would never hear her say, "I love you" again.

All through the funeral he hadn't shed a single tear, too in shock to do much except stare forward at his mother's body, but now he let the tears fall. He buried his face in his knees and sobbed out all of his frustration, sadness, and anger. When he couldn't cry anymore he just sat there, staring at the ground, when two pairs of black shoes came into his line of vision. He looked up and immediately knew who they were. He recognized them from his mother's descriptions.

A tall man with shaggy brown hair and his shorter companion who had bright green eyes and a strong jawline with slight stubble on it. The tall one looked at him sadly, which gave him the appearance of a sad overgrown puppy. The one with green eyes looked sad too, but to his relief he realized that neither of them had any pity in their eyes. He didn't need their pity, he didn't want it.

"Do you know who we are?" asked the taller one. Adam nodded before standing up and looking up into his eyes. "You're my half-brothers," he croaked out, his voice hoarse from crying. They both nodded at the same time.

"I'm Sam and that's Dean," Mr. Tall said, gesturing to himself, then to his companion, who Adam had dubbed Green Eyes. Adam cleared his throat. "What are you doing here?" he asked, not unkindly. He didn't hate them, but every time he looked at them he thought of all the times his father hadn't been there, spending time with his _real _family, and Adam couldn't really blame him. Adam was just a mistake, a Mixed bastard that was never supposed to be born.

"We're here," Dean said, "because we met your mom at our dad's funeral. She seemed like a nice lady and we wanted to come pay our respects." His eyes hardened a little after he said that, and Adam could probably guess why. They had come to his mother's funeral after meeting her once, and he couldn't have been bothered to go to his own father's funeral. It was one of his biggest regrets. He had been so angry and he hadn't wanted to believe that his dad had died, so he stayed in his room and ignored it, like a child, but he couldn't change it now.

"We were also wondering," Sam continued, "if you had anywhere that you could live."

"Actually I don't," Adam said. "My grandparents and my uncle wouldn't be caught dead having a Mixed living under their roofs, and none of my mom's friends know me enough to offer me a place to live. Well, except Ms. Williams, but she's getting older, and she couldn't afford to have me living with her anyway." Sam nodded his head in understanding.

"Well, we actually have a good friend who wouldn't mind having you living with him. We would offer to have you live with either of us, but I'm in college and Dean is living with his boyfriend right now in a pretty cramped apartment." Adam looked at Dean in surprise, and his half-brother met his gaze with a blank face. He wouldn't have taken Dean for gay, but you could never really tell by appearances. He was bisexual himself, which just gave the world another thing to hate about him.

He looked up at Sam. "Are you sure your friend wouldn't mind? I mean, I'm not going to object because I obviously have nowhere else to go, but are you sure he's not going to mind living with a Mixed? And how come you guys are so cool with having a Mixed for a half-brother?" Dean gave a snort at that. "I don't think he'll mind that much, considering that he's a Mixed too. And as for us, Sam wouldn't care if you had one eye and horns growing out of your head. I, on the other hand, have a Mixed for a boyfriend so I'm not going to mind that much. So, what do you say?"

Adam looked at his half-brothers. Sam gave him a nervous smile, and so did Dean. He wasn't ready to smile just yet, but at least he wasn't about to break out sobbing again. "Sure," he said. "I've got nowhere else to go."

Adam could guess what each of their Gifts were by just looking at them. He had picked up that talent over the years. Dean walked with the confident grace and swagger of Fire, with eyes that blazed no matter what he was doing. Sam moved with the long smooth strides of Water and his smile was refreshing and bright, like a cool glass of water on a hot summer day. When he met their ornery old friend, Bobby, even though he was Mixed, he was as stubborn as any pureblood Earth. His wife, Ellen, and his stepdaughter, Jo, both had the grace and strength of Water in them.

It still wasn't okay, and Adam didn't know if it would ever be okay again. He would eventually have to go to school, where he would again face scorn and judgment, and his half-brother's were strangers to him, as were the people he was living with. But, as he sat down to dinner with all of them, there was laughter and teasing, and Sam was splashing people with water from their own glasses. Jo eventually started splashing him back, and soon the two were having a full out water war. Ellen got into it too, then Dean's flames burst from his hands, making all of the water that had been flying above the table disappear in a cloud of mist. As it descended down onto the table, getting them all damp, Bobby scolded them for playing with their Gifts at the table and for getting him wet, but when Ellen went to take a bite of the casserole she had made, Bobby sent a rumble in the floor under her chair, making her drop her fork and glare at her.

It wasn't okay yet, but Adam could see that it could be okay again, eventually.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Dean did not cry at his dad's funeral. He did not shed one tear, he was not misty-eyed. His voice didn't crack when he met his dad's mistress or when he learned that she had a son. In fact, when he learned that he had a half-brother, he had been pretty calm about it. Actually, no, that was a lie, he had been furious.

He had been angry that his father had skipped out on so many parts of his and Sam's lives just so he could go and play with his girlfriend and his other son. And that Adam hadn't even shown up to the funeral. God, he had gotten so made at the kid before he even knew him.

He had wanted to hate Kate Milligan. He had wanted her to be a horrible person so he could justify his hatred, but it turned out that she was an incredibly nice person. And at first he hadn't known how to feel. He wanted to hate her, but how could he hate her when she didn't even hate him? And he couldn't really hate Adam, Sammy had reasoned with him, because they hadn't even met the kid yet. Dean begrudgingly agreed to that, but it didn't mean that he necessarily got a warm and fuzzy feeling whenever he thought about the kid.

He had gone home that night to his small apartment to find his boyfriend sitting on their couch reading a book. When Cas heard the door close he looked up from _Game of Thrones_ and put a bookmark in before walking over to Dean and giving the man a hug. Dean had returned the hug, reveling in the warmth and closeness. They had walked into the kitchen and Cas had made macaroni and cheese.

As the water was boiling, Dean talked to his lover. "How's the book going?" he had asked.

Cas had hummed a bit before answering. "Well," he said. "A lot of things are happening in it right now. There's plenty of incest going on, and also a child was pushed out of a window. Also, I don't quite care much for this one little boy. His name is Joffrey and he seems very mean," Cas continued talking about his book and Dean nodded, listening to his lover talk in his gravely voice, and inhaling the scent of pasta as Cas put the noodles in. When it was done and they were sitting down in their small kitchen eating, Dean broke the silence.

"I have a brother," he said. Cas had looked at him in confusion, then responded slowly, "Yes Dean, his name is Sam. He is very tall with brown shaggy hair."

Dean had just stared at him for a minute before bursting into laughter. He couldn't help it. Even though his dead dad had had a secret family and he now learned that he had a half-brother, he still had sweet, clueless, Cas. And when he started he couldn't stop. He just kept laughing and laughing. It wasn't until Cas had looked at him worriedly and had asked him what was wrong that he realized he had started crying.

* * *

After dinner at Bobby's, Dean went back to his apartment and flopped onto his small ratty couch. He had told Cas that he wouldn't get home until later so his boyfriend was probably in bed by now. Dean would eventually get up and join him, but for now he just wanted to think. He let out a sigh as he thought about his half-brother. He couldn't deny that he still felt a bit of anger because the kid didn't even go to his own father's funeral, but he couldn't be mad when he saw the kid sitting by his mom's grave, looking for all the world like the miserable orphan that he was. And it didn't help that the kid was Mixed just like Cas. He knew the troubles that Cas faced daily, the discrimination and hatred.

* * *

Cas's mom had been Water and his hadn't had any Gift at all. After Cas was born, his mother hadn't wanted anyone to know that she had given birth to a Mixed, so she tried to pawn him off on his father, but he hadn't wanted Cas either, so they put him up for adoption. Cas had been adopted by a rich man. His name was Chuck, he was Gifted with Earth, and he already had two sons, but his wife passed away shortly after their second son was born. However, Chuck had still wanted more children so he had adopted Cas, along with two other boys and a girl. Cas was the youngest after Gabriel, Raphael, and Anna. Michael and Lucifer were Chuck's biological sons.

Dean had met Cas after he got into a drunken brawl. It was after Sam left for Stanford and Dean had been living on his own in a crappy apartment. John had gone off the radar after Sam left for college, so Dean didn't have anyone or anything except his job as a mechanic and his baby, a 1967 Chevy Impala. He had felt betrayed by both his brother and his father, so getting drunk and getting into a fight had seemed like a good option at the time. But, apparently getting into a fight with three other guys while he was drunk hadn't been a very good idea. He had been holding his own just fine until one of the guys took out a knife. He had been so busy avoiding the sharp blade that he hadn't noticed the blow aimed at his head. Luckily, one of the employees in the bar had called the cops and an ambulance.

He had woken up in a hospital bed with a hot blue-eyed nurse looking over him. He had immediately tried flirting with the man, but it seemed that Blue-Eyes had no idea how to respond to pick-up lines. When Cas had asked him if he would like to call someone Dean had immediately responded with, "Sorry, but it seems I've lost my phone number. Can I have yours?"

Cas had looked at him funny before checking his eyes again, mumbling something about head trauma.

* * *

Dean smiled at the memory of his and Cas's meeting. He picked himself off of the couch and went to take a shower. After he got out he put on his pajama pants, then joined his lover in bed. Cas always slept curled up in a ball and Dean would always hug his back close to his own chest, like he was cuddling a teddy bear. Cas was a like a giant teddy bear, all soft and nice-smelling. Dean sighed in contentment and closed his eyes. Right now it didn't matter that he had a new half-brother or that Sam was still wary around him because of a big fight they had before he had abandoned Dean for college. It didn't matter that his dad was dead and his lover was treated like dirt every day.

Dean pushed all of those things in the back of his mind. He would deal with that tomorrow. Right now he just sighed in contentment before slowly drifting off to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Hello! I'm not dead! sorry about the wait, but I've been busy and I've had some writers block when it comes to this story. But I'm back on track now! Oh, and there will be Midam in some later chapters. Enjoy!

Chapter Four

Sam had been Gifted with Water, just like his mother. Dean had taken after their father and he had been Gifted with Fire. Fire and Water were not very compatible, so it was a wonder that their father and mother had even been able to stand each other enough to get married and have two children.

Their father was intimidating and strong, almost oppressing in his aggression. He cared deeply for his family, and he would do anything to protect them, but sometimes his temper got the best of him.

All of the information he knew about his mother came from Dean. She had been soft and kind, but stubborn as hell when she wanted to be. She could always stare John right in the eyes and tell him when he was being an idiot. Whenever his big brother talked about her he got a far off look in his eyes and they would cloud up in a mixture of pain and fondness, though the pain was more prominent.

Mary had died in a fire. It had been set by a person Gifted with Fire, a pyromaniac. Their mother was Gifted with Water, so she could have put the fire out, but there had been just too much of it. Waters could not stand being in heat for too long because they got dehydrated extremely fast. The heat had drained her powers until she was as helpless as a person with no Gift would have been. She had burned to death. It had not been quick.

After she died their father had blamed himself for it. That night he had spent the night at his friend's house. John and Mary had gotten into a fight, which was practically inevitable because they were polar opposites, but this fight had been different. There had been harsh words, of course, but near the end John had said something to Mary that had made her nearly vibrate in anger. She had stood there, deadly, still, and quiet. John had immediately tried to backtrack and apologize, but it had been too late.

Their mother had kicked him out for the night. Dean told Sam that their mom was always scary whenever she got quiet. He told Sam that after their dad had left, Mary had collapsed onto the couch, sobbing. Dean had went to comfort her, and she just smiled and took him up to see Sam in his crib.

"This is your family, Dean," she had told him. "You need to take care of your family, even when they do something you don't like."

When the fire had started Mary had immediately rushed to get her sons out of the house. She had grabbed Dean out of his bed and Sam out of his crib. Since the fire had been set by someone with a Gift, it had been immensely strong. As Dean and Mary rushed out of Sam's room, the fire roared down the hallway towards them. Mary knew that there was no way out. They couldn't go down that hallway with the fire racing towards them, and it was too high for them to jump out the window. She knew that she couldn't save her boys, but she didn't have to. Dean was Gifted with Fire. Granted, he was young, but he was strong, and if he could concentrate his power on shielding his brother from the fire then they could make it out.

Mary had shoved baby Sam into Dean's arms. "Dean, get him out of here!" she had yelled. "Don't let him get burned."

"B-b-but w-what ab-bout you?" Dean had stammered between his sobs. Mary dropped to her knees and took his face in her hands. "I'll be okay, sweetheart. I'll be right behind you. You just keep you and your brother safe. I love you, now go."

Dean had sprinted down the hallway and the stairs, so focused on keeping the fire from burning his wailing baby brother that he didn't notice that his mom wasn't following him. He didn't have to focus on making sure the fire didn't burn him because his Gift would make sure that he would never feel the burn of fire. Sam was vulnerable though, so he had to make sure that the baby didn't get burned.

He had gotten out of the door and he looked around excitedly. "Mom, I did it!"

When he received no answer he looked around in confusion. In that moment, the firefighters came, trucks wailing along with Sam. They had jumped out and grabbed Dean.

"Are you okay? Are you or your brother hurt?"

"No, b-but m-my mom's s-still inside! Y-you have to save h-her!"

But they couldn't.

* * *

Sam sighed as he collapsed on his bed, Jess already asleep and snuggling a pillow. He smiled at her. He had met his girlfriend after he had left home for college and she was amazing. She had no Gift, but she made it into a college that accepted mostly Gifted. She was stubborn and beautiful, and Sam loved her.

He yawned and closed his eyes, but he couldn't fall asleep. His mind was buzzing. After about fifteen minutes of laying in bed he finally got up and put his jacket on. He pulled on his shoes too and went for a walk.

Adam had looked so miserable sitting at his mother's grave, so young and vulnerable. Sam's heart had went out to him. The kid had nowhere to go, no one to turn to. Mixed were always looked down upon in society, even though they couldn't help the way they had been born. Sam had never thought any less of Mixed, even though he had never really met any.

One time when they had been living in a motel, after their mom died because their dad couldn't seem to settle down anywhere now that his wife was dead, there had been a gang of people beating up on a teenager. Sam had been about six at the time, and he had been confused on why his dad and his brother didn't help the kid. He had made a move to run towards the people, but his dad had grabbed his collar.

"What are you doing?" Sam had asked, horrified at the behavior. "We have to help him!"

"No," his father had instructed, voice hard and eyes even harder. "It's just a Mixed, we don't need to help it."

"He's a person and he needs help!"

Their argument had ended when they heard a different cry of pain from the area of the gang. The sight made Sam smile proudly and John's face turn red in anger. Dean was currently beating the crap out of the gang, and it looked like he wasn't having that much trouble with it. Their dad had trained them to defend themselves from an early age, paranoid that they would be hurt by anyone and everyone. The Mixed had quickly thanked Dean before scampering off.

That night, John had screamed at Dean before storming off and going to a bar. After he had left, Sam launched himself at Dean and hugged him as hard as he could.

Sam smiled at the memory. Both he and Dean would make sure Adam would be taken care of, because he was family, and family was all they had. He had already started looking at a high school Adam could go to that wasn't too far away from Bobby's house. Just about an hour. Bobby didn't like living near too many people.

As Sam was finishing his walk, he noticed that there was smoke coming from his home. His eyes widened in horror and he took off running.

* * *

A faulty outlet. That had been the cause of the fire. That was the reason Jess was dead. He hadn't even been able to tell her how much he had loved her.

The funeral seemed like a dream to him. Jess couldn't be dead. She was a good person. Good people shouldn't die. But, then again, his mom had been a good person. Kate Milligan had been a good person. His dad had been a good person, though sometimes it was hard to tell.

And as he put the ring case in Jess's cold hands while she was lying in her casket, he thought that that wasn't fair. Why did she have to die? Why would God let this happen? Unlike his brother, Sam did still believe in God, but he decided that God must have hated humans. Giving them people to love and them ripping them from the world.

And as the love of his life was lowered into her casket, he thought that that was not okay.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's Note: I am so sorrryyyy! I haven't updated in months! I know that not a lot of people are reading this but I know where I want to go with it and I just didn't feel like writing. That was just pure laziness on my part. Just because this isn't one of my more popular stories doesn't mean I should abandon it. I'm going to try and do better everyone!

Chapter Five

After Jess died, Sam became depressed. His grades dropped so low so that soon he was only barely passing his classes, and he only ate when someone made him. He lost weight, he barely talked, and he wasn't getting much sleep. Everyone was worried about him and they were all in a shock over Jess being dead. So, it wasn't the best atmosphere for a birthday.

Which was exactly why Adam didn't mention that he would be turning sixteen that year . His mom had never had enough money to spend on a big party for him, plus the other children weren't very keen on coming over to his house. They didn't really know what Mixed meant, they just knew that it was bad and their parents said it with disgust, so they didn't want anything to do with him.

His mom made sure that he always had a good birthday though. She always made him a cake and got him a present. Adam always loved the things she got him, even if it was something as small as a stuffed puppy(he still had it hidden away in the back of his closet).

But most of everyone's attention was focused on making sure that Sam was okay, so he didn't want to say anything. However, Bobby had somehow found out about it.

Adam had been eating breakfast when he plopped what looked like a pile of old newspapers on the table in front of him. Adam had nearly choked on his toast.

"What's this?" he finally managed to ask after he had swallowed down some milk. Bobby looked at him like he was an idiot. "Why don't you open it and find out?" he said.

Turns out that the pile of old newspapers had really been Bobby's idea of wrapping paper. And inside the mess was a birthday present for Adam. An old, brass, pocket watch was revealed when he pulled back the mess.

"Thanks Bobby," he said. "How'd you know it was my birthday?"

Bobby just snorted at him. "I know everything, don't ya know that?"

"It's true," Ellen piped up from where she was cooking in the kitchen before exiting with a plate that had a stack of fluffy pancakes with syrup, whipped cream, and strawberries piled on it. "Happy birthday, honey," she said as she set down the plate in front of him. Adam looked between the plate of delicious-looking pancakes and his half-eaten toast that was slightly burnt. After a moment's hesitation he dug into the pancakes.

"Thank you, Ellen," he said through a mouthful of deliciousness. She just rolled her eyes and gave him an affectionate swat on the head.

* * *

It had been one of his best birthdays by far. Dean had came and had brought his boyfriend, Cas, another Mixed. Adam immediately liked the man with his extremely blue eyes and his soft voice. Dean said that he had invited Sam, but so far his other brother hadn't shown up and his absence was astute.

Jo had gotten him four candles, vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, and sea salt. He made sure to give her a genuine smile. He loved candles, they were a fun way to use his Gift in a way that didn't make him feel inferior to others. It was a nice feeling to lay sit down and start reading a book and then just snap his fingers and have the smell of cinnamon rolls fill his room.

Cas had even gotten him something. Adam would swear until his death bed that the noise he made when he opened his present and found the first three seasons of Game of Thrones was not a squeak. He thanked Cas over and over again.

Dean gave him a gun. A .45 winchester magnum. Adam laughed out loud because a Winchester was giving him a Winchester. Dean thought it was funny too and they laughed about it like fools while everyone else in the room gave them exasperated looks. The mood in the room turned a little more serious when Dean told him that their father had given him that gun when he had been fourteen.

Now, Adam was not a physically affectionate person. The only people to ever hug him had been his mom and the old woman that had taken care of him in her daycare, Ms. Williams. But after hearing that his older brother who had only known him for a short time had given him something from their deceased father, even though Adam hadn't gone to his funeral and barely knew Dean, he had to get up and give the man the tightest bear hug he had ever given. Dean stood still in shock for a minute before slowly returning the embrace. When Adam let go, he noticed that everyone was staring at him and he cleared his throat in embarrassment.

After opening gifts, they all went into the kitchen to have some cake and ice cream when they heard someone knock on the door. Bobby got up and after they heard the door open they also heard him yell, "Well, it's about time you showed up!"

He entered the room with Sam and a girl in tow. "Sammy!" Dean exclaimed before getting up to hug his brother. The taller man returned the hug and gave everyone in the room a smile and nod. He had a tired look about him, a look that can only come from someone who has gone through amounts of grief. Everybody else made sure to greet the tall man, including Adam. "I didn't know if you would be coming," the blonde quietly stated.

Sam smiled at that, a tired but genuine smile. "Well, I wouldn't want to miss my little brother's birthday," he said. "Plus," he added, with a glance at the woman. "I wanted to introduce you all to somebody. This is Ruby, my new friend that I met a while ago. I hope you don't mind that I brought her along."

"No, of course not," Adam assured him. He stuck out his hand towards Ruby. She was very pretty, with shoulder-length brown hair and matching brown eyes. Her face reminded him of something, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Hi, I'm Adam, Sam's half-brother. Nice to meet you."

She smiled at him, but for some reason, he didn't find any comfort in it. She took his hand and shook it with a grip that bordered on crushing. "Hello," she purred. "Nice to meet you too. Sam's told me so much about you."

Adam blinked in disbelief. He hadn't expected either of his brothers to talk about him to anyone. As Ruby went around and introduced herself to everyone else, he couldn't help but feel trepidation creeping up on him, but he ignored the feeling. He was going to start attending school again and he had a family who loved him even though he was Mixed. He was happy again.

* * *

Later, when Sam and Ruby had left, he realized what the look on her face had reminded him of. It had reminded her of a wolf looking to hunt a particularly weak and sick deer.


End file.
